Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele has revealed that he snubbed Liverpool last summer.
Manchester United’s Antonio Valencia in action with Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele
Borussia Dortmund winger Ousmane Dembele has told Four Four Two that he spoke to Jurgen Klopp about a move to Liverpool last summer – but told him that he had decided to join the Bundesliga side.
Dembele, 19, burst onto the scene with Rennes last season, hitting 12 goals and five assists for the Ligue 1 side as he – unsurprisingly – attracted major interest last summer.
The pacey winger had interest from big clubs around Europe, but eventually settled on Borussia Dortmund, joining the Bundesliga giants in a deal believed to be worth €15million (£12.85million), as claimed by The Guardian.
Dembele has impressed in his first season at Signal Iduna Park, grabbing five goals and eight assists in the Bundesliga, as well as one goal and five assists in seven Champions League games.
Dembele is well on his way to becoming a star and a fixture of the French national team, and he has now opened up on his move to Germany.
Speaking to this month’s issue of Four Four Two, Dembele has revealed that Liverpool wanted to sign him last summer – but whilst he met up with Reds boss Jurgen Klopp, he told him that he had decided to join Dortmund.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp
Dembele also admitted that he told Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri the same thing, as he clearly had his heart set on a move to Germany with Thomas Tuchel’s Dortmund.
“I saw Klopp in Paris but I told him I had made up my mind to sign for Dortmund,” said Dembele. “I told Claudio Ranieri the same thing,” he added.
Whether Dembele was being lined up as an alternative to Sadio Mane or a player to add depth in the Liverpool attack is unclear, but he’s already worth exponentially more than the fee Dortmund paid – and Liverpool may well rue missing out on him.
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